1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a bracket for fitting a face shield to a safety hat, and more particularly, to a dielectric bracket fitted without tools to a safety hat potentially subjected to electric-arc exposure.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Face protection has become a necessity for individuals who work or play in the vicinity of hazardous conditions. Depending upon the conditions encountered, various designs for face protection have been proposed. The face protection previously known generally seeks to protect an individual's entire face against the hazardous conditions by using a face shield.
A face shield is usually worn in conjunction with a helmet, or safety cap or hat, collectively referred to as a "hard hat." Originally, attempts were made to fasten face shields directly to the hard hat. The results were marginal and such attachments were permanent in nature. Later, several methods of removeably coupling the face shield to the hard hat developed, such as snaps, clasps and various pin arrangements. Although these methods represented marked improvements, they resulted in the face shield being awkward to remove and rigidly fixed to the hard hat when in position to cover the wearer's face.
Improvements for coupling a face shield to a hard hat were realized by using a bracket, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,041, entitled "Face Shield Bracket Mount for Helmets," and U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,324, entitled "Hard Hat Face Shield Bracket." These bracket designs allowed the face shield to be removeably fixed to a hard hat but movable away from a wearer's face while remaining attached to the hard hat, thereby permitting the face shield to be raised and lowered. The problem with these designs is that raising the face shield requires a fixed resistance to pivoting to be overcome, and the face shield can only be locked in the fully-raised position. This fixed resistance can cause the hard hat to shift, depending upon how well it fits the wearer's head. Moreover, locking only in the raised position prevents the face shield from being partially raised and locked, a desired feature, depending upon conditions under which the face shield is used. For example, additional ventilation under the face shield might be desired when working outdoors on a hot day although substantial face coverage is still required. Furthermore, the above-discussed brackets have traditionally been made from metal, inappropriate for use where electricity is likely to be encountered.
Although a great deal of attention has been focused on developing different face shields used with the brackets, little attention has been given to developing different brackets which are required in different conditions to maximize hard hat/face shield safety. To date, no bracket exists that is designed specifically for work conducted around high voltage power lines and related power transmission equipment. What is needed is a non-metallic (dielectric) bracket for adjustably mounting a face shield on a hard hat. Because full brim safety hats are becoming more popular for use in the power industry, what is specifically needed is a dielectric bracket used to adjustably mount a face shield to a full-brim safety hat.